he's here

Caiden Edison Maurice.   Caiden is growing on me.  not at all what i was expecting.  Edison and Maurice after the dad's grandfathers.  he is in the nursery because he has low blood sugar and it isn't regulating.  he also has a heart murmur but this in not uncommon and not serious. lots of babies are born with one including me.  i grew out of it by the time i was six or so.  cookie was born with severe heart problems as i've probably mentioned here before.  she's had four ops the first one at six weeks.  she's doing well now.  my daughter is staying in hospital tonight to be with bubs even though she could have come home tonight.  i think she's better off in hospital and hopefully she's resting.  i was out shopping yesterday when i got the call and stayed up there with the kids last night. their dad is home with them tonight and daughter should be home tomorrow.  she had a few problems with her blood tests but nothing serious. baby was 6 pound 11 ounces, not a big baby but a good size.  he has dark hair and dimples like Anthony.  actually he looks a lot like Anthony did when he was a baby.  hopefully all will settle down soon and they can get into a routine at home together. 

warning warning

there wasn't one.  a warning i mean.  norton 360 said the file was ok.  it wasn't.  i d/loaded a spider solitaire game from tucows.  my computer was corrupted and it took six hours to get it back to usable.  all of my programs are gone.  thankfully, my photos, music and docs are still there.  what an interesting evening.  don't you love computers?  noooooooooooooooooooooo i don't.  my modem, on the other hand, has been behaving itself.  :)  you have to smile don't you?  either that or tear your hair out, or, more sensibly, throw the laptop in the bin and get a life.  i'm emotional atm, can you tell?  :)

above pic is my yet to be born grandson.  did i tell you my daughter is pregnant?  i can't remember.  so far he is healthy and growing nicely.  he is due on december 11 or thereabouts.  i'll keep you posted

my didgeridoo

i have very little to blog about but i'll jot down a few things.  did i tell you i bought a didge in cairns?  i can't remember.  my dil bought my son one too.  great place in the night markets.  he makes his own and paints them beautifully.  i can play it.  yes, i can.  :)  can i play it well?  no way.  i can't get the circular breathing thing happening but i am practicing. my son, on the other hand, is really good.  he hasn't got the breathing exactly right but he's very good.  i'll post a video when i can get my shyte together.  which brings me on to my next topic.  i go back to work on wednesday next and all i can say is ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  it seems ages since i was there and i'm sure i'm not ready.  bring on april next i say (retirement here i come).  they have changed my role completely and we have about four new staff members.  all of our teams and desks have been changed around.  another ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  but, being the positive little blogger that i am i'm sure that a) i'll have no trouble waking up to the alarm, jumping into the shower and getting myself orjanized.  (sic)  i've been keeping very late hours and waking up really late and eating at odd hours and just bumming around, and b) everything will turn out splendidly.   i hope i am more together when i retire or i will go to seed very quickly.  well, i suppose it's not quite as bad as all that but i need to get my shyte together.  yes i do.  :)  a few pics follow but before i go, is anyone else unable to change their blog around? edit backgrounds etc?  oh yes, i made soup last night and the green split dried peas are undercooked and have spoilt the whole batch.  i'm about to make some ricotta cheese and yoghurt.  wish me luck  :)  

my son playing both of our didges.  mine is the smaller one on the right

a colourful owl for cookie

the beetroot incident x 3

ahh, what can i say.  beetroot is a bitch to clean up.  esp. when it's all over the bench and most of the things on said bench.  luckily, it didn't go on the floor or cupboard doors.  phew.  firstly, i tipped a container of beetroot over in the fridge the other day.  you don't want to know about that cleanup.  :(  today, i was making a delish salad wrap for lunch when ...  i tipped over the container of beetroot.  it went everywhere.  but that's not the best bit.  i picked up the container and it slipped out of my hands and went all over my wrap.  another sad face :( lol. i think on reflection that it is the container that is at fault here.  i need one with a tighter lid.  so i cleaned it all up.  the dish washing water looked a bit ominous.  then, a very sharp knife got knocked off the bench and onto the floor.  this is where i think the accident fairies were looking after me (where were they before?).  it missed my foot by mere millimetres.  phew.  i had thongs on (my feet) and it could have been nasty.  so, it's all cleaned up and i've had a cup of coffee.  i don't know whether to go outside and sweep up some more or go up and have a shower.  my son and dil came over yesterday and we shifted some pot plants and garden stuff.  it's a mess but it's better than it was.  we did lots and were dirty and tired when we finished.  i was supposed to go up and see the kids for lunch today but my daughter couldn't make it so i went back to the garden.  might be time for a shower and a nana nap.  :)  enjoy your sunday

i found this lovely blue and white ball at the shop the other day

my son and g/daughter having a swing after gardening yesterday

lovely son and lovely dil Sharlene

remember the tree the council cut down recently?  it's growing again. my dil said i should have shade again in about 15 years. to be fair the tree is starting to rot from the inside.  it's not very healthy

me gardening.  i'm such a klutz at times

the beetroot mess, well some of it anyway

 

a few things

i went back to work this week and survived.  yay.  i just realized yesterday that it's only 17 months before i retire.  yikes!  i took the g/kids out for lunch and shopping yesterday.  we had a fab day and were all a bit tired by the time we got back to their place.  my daughter made me a cappuccino in their new (father's day present) coffee machine.  very nice.  i like my coffee :)  we bought lots of stuff.  i even started on my christmas presents.  just started.  my dil returned from cairns.  her mum's op was postponed until next thursday.  let's hope it goes ahead without problems.  i haven't caught up with her yet.

i woke up this morning and turned the laptop on, as you do.  it had crashed AGAIN. what the?  it's happened twice before and i've restored it.  shouldn't happen at all as it's only a few months old if that.  so....  this time i had no choice but to take it back to factory default. i lost all my unsaved stuff, including my tax file for this year.  i printed it out. :(  ahhhh.  i put chrome back on.  i've been using firefox coz chrome kept crashing and doing weird things.  for example, it loads google.com.au in chinese and then offers to translate it.  i've checked all of my settings and they all say i'm in australia and speak and type ENGLISH.  not very well i grant you.  :)  how rude!

as i was getting ready to go shopping a while ago i looked out of the bathroom window upstairs and there was a man lying face down next to the back of the office wall in the cemetery workyard.  i've told you i have a cemetery on one boundary and a park on the other.  i look into the workyard of the cemetery from my bathroom window.  it gets very dusty some days with their machinery etc.  anyhoo.  i didn't know what to do.  next time i looked he had rolled over onto his back and was looking at his mobile.  then, the next time i looked he was gone.  omg how spooky.  no, he wasn't a ghost.  well, at least i don't think so.  :)

i'm listening to the new bob dylan cd on itunes (click here) and thinking about island holidays.

technology bit me on the bum

and it's my own fault.  i bought the g/kids a new mobile phone each recently.  smarty pants phones.  you can download apps quickly and easily.  i do it from my computer and had my visa details and password saved ready to go.  anytime.  even when nana isn't looking. oops.  g/son downloaded quite a few apps last night when they visited.  i wasn't paying attention. then i started getting the emails.  thank you for your order.  i have changed my password and deleted my visa card details from google play.  really silly of me.  hopefully it won't happen again. ants is going to camp in the flinder's ranges on monday for a few days.  he's excited.  my sister came down yesterday for a fleeting visit.  she drove me to the hospital in the afternoon and went home last night.  quite a busy day all up.

a few things

i haven't posted anything for a while so thought i'd do a small catch up.  i had two procedures last wednesday and they went smoothly.  minor problem found, nothing serious.  i'm back at work now and nothing much changes there.  bedlam.  new staff, new positions, we are not holding our breaths.  supervisor comes back from europe soon, she's been away for a month.  we've been a little bit 'relaxed' at work while she's been gone.  they've put up the date for the start of the new library system.  no big surprises there.
i had lunch today with the g/kids and my daughter.  i bought the kids a mobile phone each.  they were half price and they are really nice little touch phones.  i sat at lunch with the three of them on their phones. i may as well have had lunch alone.  not quite.  i exaggerate just a tad.  i just made some pumpkin soup which isn't too bad so having that and some toast for dinner.  working tomorrow and you know how much i enjoy that.  :)  it's been our coldest june for 25 or so years.  lots of rain too.  i should have gotten some washing done today but it was too wet.  tomorrow maybe

lotus in friend's garden pond

i like the late afternoon sun reflected on the building and in the trees and clouds

Cookie made cupcakes last weekend. they were yum 

i saw a program on the teev the other day about people picking up old thongs (flip flops) from the beach and recycling them into sellable items.  it's a great way to increase their meagre income and they have a website - http://www.theffrc.com/  it's a program about the indian ocean and it's really good.  i think it's on sbs1

everything's broken

what's going on?  my suitcase, camera and glasses whilst i was away - broken.  (glasses fixed).  now my laptop crashed and has a disc error.  the other laptop won't charge.  the power cord won't go all the way in to charge it.  ahhh  i got a second hand lappy recently for when the kids come over.  that in itself is not a good thing, we should be outside playing in the fresh air.  :)  i can't find my windows 7 disc anywhere and the cord for the external drive which has my recovery file on it has gone missing too.  bloody hell.  i'm a little bit over computers atm.  so, i'm going to turn them both off and go and clean something.  in a minute or two, when i finish this.  i had an awful day yesterday.  i put some rice on to cook and forgot about it.  half an hour later i smelt something not quite right. saucepan cleaned up really easily thank goodness. the installer came to put the new screen doors on and they have that thick mesh on them so that the house looks a bit dark.  my computer crashed etc etc.  i had to have a chocolate brownie and a coffee and felt much better.  i have to go back to work tomorrow after a month off.  hmmm  interesting.  on a bright note i think i've fixed the keyboard that was repeating letters willy nilly and had a nice breakfast with my son and dil this morning.  it's the little things.

this is one of Dizzy's pups.  the kids are keeping her.  cute and mischievousness. she chewed a shoe this morning 

i'm back

https://picasaweb.google.com/princessyevisha/May272012

click link above for a few photos.  nice to be back actually.  three weeks in the same room/hotel with my sister was enough.  we should have stayed in a few hotels.  next time.  i had a fab time.  some highlights/lowlights:

• got my suitcase off the carousel and it had a broken wheel.  not good. bought a new one.  i hate it. it's too small
• broke my camera. bought a new one.  old one works perfectly now.  two cameras :)
• kuta is a building site.  a new modern hotel going up on every other corner
• i really miss having my washing/ironing done.  my meals cooked for me.  delicious food.  and someone coming in to clean my room.  
• we went up to git git waterfall which is spectacular.  clean gorgeous air.  so green.  noisy too.  :)
• bedugul, the water temple, is wonderful.  i had a pic of it on my computer, now i've seen it in person.
• gorgeous happy people everywhere.  i went shopping when i got back and no-one smiled at me and pulled me into their shop.  go figure?
• fab flight over.  smoothest landing ever.  thanks Bev
• lovely to get home and see the kids and grandchildren.  missed them so much
• got to save up for next time
• very small,  tiny motor bike incidence.  small graze.  i'm fine :)
• broke my glasses.  fixed my glasses.
• sister finally got prescription glasses.  two pairs
• shopping, lots of shopping
• we were underweight coming home  
• three hours shoe shopping with my sister was three hours too much.  
• juice.  fresh juice.  watermelon, avocado, mango etc etc
• noodles
• bali  coffee
• swimming and going to the beach most days
• oh i nearly forgot, massages and more massages.  i can't believe the price.  even the bad ones were good
• temples and culture so different from ours

now it's back to work on friday for me and the dreaming starts planning the next one.  maybe we should go to thailand next time :)

sad stuff

the funeral yesterday went well.  it was emotional of course and very moving.  it was nice to see my cousins whom i haven't seen for ages.  years in fact.  my cousin from canberra is not well again. she had pancreas cancer.  my daughter and family came.  it was nice to see the g/kids.  ants got quite emotional.  today is my late husband's birthday, it's also Anzac day. a day that we remember the brave anzacs who gave their lives for their country.  i didn't watch the march as i always cry and i'm already a bit emotional atm.  instead, i went to the cemetery. (that sounds ridiculous i know) i took a small posy of wattle, rosemary and lavender with a few white daisies for everyone.  it is usually a bit of a trek as i visit my parents' grave, my parents in law's and of course the husband.  i can easily find mum and dad's grave and my pil are easy to find.   no so my husband's grave.  it's a bit of  a thing with our family.  i know where it is.  i line it up with the gate and some trees but it always eludes me.  so much so that i am ashamed to say i get quite pissed with it all. after looking for it for a good ten minutes i went to the office and found it on the computer and then printed out the location.  i went to pil's grave and my parents and had calmed down enough to try to find it again, this time with directions. it still took a while.  so let's hope that next time i visit his grave i'll be able to find it at least a bit faster than usual.  of course, i didn't have my phone with me so didn't take photos.  i expected a lot more people to be there as it's usually a busy day.  enjoy your public holiday where ever you are, i doing the usual washing, cleaning and watching shirley bassey videos on youtube.  

just some random pics from previous posts

it's been a while

hello.  it's been a little while since i blogged.  nothing too much has happened.  i'm having a bit of a thing with my daughter atm.  i won't go into it but it's been quite upsetting. not for the first time or last i guess.  my aunt died on Thursday (my birthday) and the funeral is on tuesday.  she was elderly and went into hospital a few days before she died.  my cousin is coming over from canberrra with her family and i haven't seen them for many years.  we are not a close family really.  i'm going to bali next monday and although not really packed i'm mostly done.  i'm looking forward to a break as it's been a yucky time since my last trip.  what with the cancer and other things ahhhh. i'm hoping a tsunami/earthquake/bomb doesn't go off while we are there. my sister's health is not good either, her blood is too thick. she's worried about it too and is booked in to see a specialist.  her son broke his collar bone at football the other day.  first game of the season.  he was booked to go to bali too and will probably  have to cancel.  it's a very bad break.  they are coming to the hospital Tuesday.  ahhh again.  on a much brighter note i had a lovely birthday.  before  it went pear shaped (daughter problems) we went to breakfast and had a nice day.  son and family gave me a dwarf meyer lemon tree in a specky pot. i will attach a photo.  we went out to lunch yesterday to celebrate.  ???   i guess it's something to celebrate still being around at my age and so far surviving the big c.  should that be C?  lol.  sorry for such a down blog.  i hope you are not about to slash your wrists coz i've depressed you.   shall i tell you a joke to brighten up the mood?  yes?  ok.  q. why did the koala fall out of the tree?  ... scroll down for answer ....













a.  it was dead.   i hope you are laughing and not thinking what a bad taste joke to tell.  i'm laughing.  

at work bird of paradise came out in flower recently.  lovely

the girls plus beetle

dil planting the lemon tree.  i hope it thrives

a birthday and a panda

birthday girl

i didn't get home until 8 tonight coz i went up to see cookie as it's her 12th birthday today.  harmony day too.  she had a lovely day and we went out for dinner.  i gave her a name necklace for want of a better name.  she has a very unusual name, she's the only one i've ever heard of, so i got one made by a jeweller in melbourne.  silver with swarovski crystals. she loved it.  her parents gave her clothes which she loved too.  she's having a party on sunday at the local park.  she's excited.  it should be a lovely day.  now i'm pooped.

so on to the panda.  well!  i was at the end of my busy desk shift and doing three things at once as usual.  i looked up and there in front of me was a 7 foot panda.  well, a person in a panda suit to be precise.  i said hello, as you do, and he waved at me. he could have been there to rob us for all i knew.  he was carrying a gift basket.  i asked him a question and he shook his head no.  i asked if he wanted to give out the lollies around the library.  he shook his head.  then i noticed that he was tapping on his gift basket and written on the box was the name Sarah.  drrr  i finally got it.  he was there for sarah.  so after getting a very embarrassed sarah out to the desk the basket was presented to her.  by now a large crowd had gathered.  camera flashes went off.  it turned into something of an event.  it seems that the person inside the suit has a bit of a crush on sarah.  he's older than her and she doesn't really reciprocate his feelings.  he stayed around for ages, i thought he was waiting for a tip or maybe he was going to strip. a stripping pandagram.  he finally left and things settled down when all of a sudden a young woman came in to the library with a gift basket for sarah.  the two are not connected at all but you have to admit it was a doozy of a coincidence.

it's hard to understand panda sign language

bug run 2

bug run march 2012

we went on another bug run today.  up into the hills, down to the beach and cafe primo for lunch.  we are all pooped.  my son made a short video. the backing music is by his band khatrun.  i have to put it in as a link above.  apologies.  we had a lovely day.  the club members are all very friendly people and a good time was had by all.  i'm off tomorrow and then back to work on tuesday.  ewwwww  :)

a pic from the last bug run. i forgot my camera today :(

the weather today was perfect.

yesterday i went up to see my daughter and g/kids.  their dog had nine puppies.  the pups are too cute and have their eyes open now.  we had a nice day.  a little lunch and a little shopping.  we went to about four garage sales too and had a great day.   i hope you enjoyed your weekend 

my brain

the good news is that they found one.  yay.  i had a cat scan recently.  nothing serious wrong with me.  everything normal except that i've got brain atrophy.  sounds serious.  oooooh.  i googled it,  it just means my brain has shrunk.

the pattern and rate of progression of cerebral atrophy depends on the disease involved. diseases that cause cerebral atrophy include: 

age  bingo***

stroke and traumatic brain injury

depression (mood)  my brain has shrunk, that's enough to depress anyone***

alzheimer's disease, pick’s disease, senile dementia, fronto-temporal dementia, and vascular dementia

cerebral palsy, in which lesions (damaged areas) may impair motor coordination

huntington's disease, and other genetic disorders that cause build-up of toxic levels of proteins in neurons

leukodystrophies, such as krabbe disease, which destroy the myelin sheath that protects axons

mitochondrial encephalomyopathies, such as kearns-sayre syndrome, which interfere with the basic functions of neurons

multiple sclerosis, which causes inflammation, myelin damage, and lesions in cerebral tissue

infectious diseases, such as encephalitis, neurosyphilis, and aids, in which an infectious agent or the inflammatory reaction to it destroys neurons and their axons

epilepsy, in which lesions cause abnormal electrochemical discharges that result in seizures

anorexia nervosa

i've never heard of some of these.  basically i'm a bit young to show signs of it.  it's usually in older people.  it could or could not be a precursor for alzheimer's among other things.  there's no way of telling.  there's no swelling or inflammation and everything else is normal.  i had no idea what is was and had to hold on to the chair.  fancy having the other thing and a brain tumour.  no brain tumour.  yay again.  now for the really scary part.  i've shrunk.  dr weighed and measured me.  i am 168 cm.  well, not anymore.  163 cm now.  i wish my feet would shrink.  my cholesterol level has gone down a bit.  6.8  the hard part is that i have to lose weight.  dr also said that my good cholesterol is high and that would put up my overall reading. bp is good.  well.  after all that i had a lovely lunch with my son and his fam.  he's hurt his back again and will see chiro tomorrow.  all that and a little shopping.  not too horrible.  it's been pouring with rain all day here.  garden will like it. 

dinner

my sister is down for a short visit.  she went to the hospital today but we ended up in emergency coz her bp was too high to go through with the procedure.  we were in hospital for the afternoon.  we went to sunflower, a vietnamese restaurant a few neighbourhoods away for dinner.  the food was delectable.  honey chicken, satay chicken, king prawns and beef curry.  all with rice and drinks.  yum.   we are home now and i have to go back to work tomorrow after three days off.  yuk.  i'm working sunday too.  double wammy.  :)  my sister is staying over until monday coz i'm going back for my first check up.  going to bed now.   goodnight :)

just a few things

not too much has happened this week.  my home phone died yesterday morning but internet is ok.  (obviously).  there's a little tower that's been  pushed over just up the road.  it's full of cables and some of them are daamaged.  i'm guessing that that is the reason.  my keyyboard is playing up.  i had a virus  yesterday and i tried to d/load itunes but it wouldn't run.  i've never had problems with it in the past.  i'm going up to see the kids in a while.  i'm lookinng forward to that.  we may go to maccas and get an icecream and maybe tthe playground.  see what i mean about my keyboard.  maybe it's the settings.  i've just finished watching popasiia.  i lovee it.  everyone is 12 years old and so cute.  my sister is coming down soon.  she's got an appointment at the hospital and will stay over to go with me when i have my first check upp a few days afterwards.  work is suckier than usual lately as our databases have been affected  by a new achieval  system.  notthing but problems.  ahhhh   makess everything so difficult esp. when a patron is waiting to be served.  the cataloggue is down half the time too.  very inconvenient.  oh well.  could always be worse i suppose.  enjoy your sunday  :)

my g/daughters shopping in the city

benni, my favourite g/cat.  sorry it's a little bit blurry 

benni and etta. etta is the feral kitten my son hand reared.  she's a daddy's girl and is totally spoilt

just a catch up

i had the kids over for christmas a day early, which is something we often do.  we had a nice dinner and then opened presents and that was crazy.  kids were excited and it was great.  very noisy.  i went to wallaroo to visit my sister and her family on christmas day.  i came back yesterday and was pooped but had a great sleep last night so feel much better today.  i may go to a friend's house for a very quiet new year's eve.  i usually stay at home.  then, i go back to work on the 4th of january.  fish are ok atm :)

i found some old photos on the phone.  this is benni when she was little.  my favourite grandcat

i'd like to wish you a very happy 2012.  be safe, healthy and happy